The Guilt Trip: Wholesome Hollywood Soulfood

A Feel Good Flick For Mother-Son Duos!

The Guilt Trip is a surprisingly pleasant yet realistic portrayal of what happens when children grow up and out of their Mother's care. It tells of the story of a brilliant scientist entrepreneur who is having trouble marketing his self made product to the right people, while trying to re-unite his widowed mother with her former flame, a high school sweetheart.

While the storyline looks like its nothing out of the ordinary and mundane, its execution is near flawless.Seth Rogen plays the role of the scientist son perfectly, being confident to the point of cockiness , and also proportionately responsive to his mother's feelings. This role is in stark contrast to his previous one as an irresponsible pot smoker in " Pineapple Express' and his laid back persona in ' Knocked up' making it clear he has more to offer when it comes to acting. Even though it seems like he is playing himself in this flick, going by how diametrically opposite the characters are in this movie and the rest of the lot he has featured in, it shows how versatile he can be. For example his role in 'The Green Hornet' was probably the worst superhero role executed by an actor in Hollywood. Barbra Streisand is her usual 'breath of fresh air' self and brings her unique, patented, bubbly charm to this movie, and plays the understanding mother who is ever supportive. She has eased into the role of mommy in her past three movies starting with 'Meet The Parents'. Although she's been given a razzie for this movie I think her performance does justice to the role.

The strength of the movie lies in the storytelling. They keep the plot grounded and real. For example the mother and son have the average relationship that any mother son duo would,given the time and place in their lives. This is seen when Barbra Streisand accuses Rogen of moving away intentionally to get away from his mother which he later explains is only to get the best education he could and not for distancing himself from her. And when Rogen refuses to accept from his mother, completely rational and sensible advice on how to market his product , which is generally what a son/daughter would do, i.e disregard their parents advice even if they're right. This movie is unlike the candy floss versions of the single parent and offspring dynamic that is seen in movies like ' The Parent Trap' or 'Sleepless in Seattle' where everything comes together like a magical relationship jigsaw puzzle. But this leaves space for much more realistic endings, and is much more relatable.

The movie is made for light viewing, has a few laughs, and is a delightful watch.